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OU football collapses against Missouri, putting bowl eligibility in question

COLUMBIA, Mo. – OU's chances of making a bowl game are getting slim.

Saturday's showdown with No. 24 Missouri appeared to be the Sooners' best chance to earn a sixth win and extend their bowl streak to 26 seasons.

But Missouri delivered the final blow in a wild final four minutes when Zion Young returned Jackson Arnold's fumble 17 yards for a touchdown with 22 seconds left to give the Tigers a 30-23 victory.

The loss was the Sooners' fourth straight loss in SEC play.

Former Sooners receiver Theo Wease finished the game with four catches for 70 yards and two touchdowns.

OU needs a win over Alabama or LSU in its final two games of the regular season to secure a bowl berth.

The Sooners took the lead with 2:00 left when Billy Bowman scored a 43-yard fumble return for a touchdown.

But then Missouri scored two rushing touchdowns to complete the wild comeback.

Here are five takeaways from the Sooners' loss:

More: Danny Stutsman moves into OU football's top 10 for career tackles during Missouri game

Sales are doomed to failure for previous ones

Jackson Arnold had the chance to be the hero.

The Sooners got the ball back with 1:03 left and needed just a field goal to escape with a win.

But instead, Arnold committed another critical turnover.

Triston Newson's hit in the backfield stripped Arnold of the ball in the final minute, and Zion Young returned it 17 yards for a touchdown that gave the Tigers the lead for good.

The Sooners failed to mount a desperate response in the final seconds, and OU's bowl hopes suffered another crucial blow.

OU turned the ball over four times, leading to 13 Missouri points.

Arnold completed 15 of 24 for just 74 yards.

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Zach Schmit is making it big

OU kicker Zach Schmit has been solid since being reinstated as the Sooners' placekicker after beating Tyler Keltner a few weeks ago.

Schmit was outstanding against Missouri.

The redshirt senior from Bishop McGuinness hit a 56-yard field goal as the first half expired, sending the Sooners to a 9-3 halftime lead.

It was the third-longest field goal in school history, tied with two by Gabe Brkic in 2021 and another by Tony DiRienzo in 1975.

DiRienzo holds the school record with a 60-yarder in 1973, while Uwe von Schamann scored a 58-yarder against Oklahoma State in 1977.

The field goal was Schmit's third of the first half.

He also had field goals of 40 and 35 yards.

Schmit is 7-for-7 on field goals this season.

More: Deion Burks injury update: OU football WR exits with loss to Missouri

The bets of the past are paying off

Luke Elzinga was hoping for another chance to throw the ball this season.

He did it against Missouri.

Near the end of the first quarter, the OU punter took the snap and immediately made his way to the fake's line of scrimmage.

But before he reached the line of scrimmage, Elzinga jumped into the air and found tight end Bauer Sharp with a floating pass, and Sharp rumbled 43 yards for the first down.

From there, however, the drive stalled and the Sooners had to settle for a field goal.

Elzinga completed his only other pass of the season on October 19 against South Carolina.

But that pass — also to Sharp — was stopped well before the first-down marker.

Elzinga has now completed 3 of 3 passes throughout his career.

The Sooners weren't done with the tricks.

Thanks to freshman running back Xavier Robinson in the fourth quarter, the Sooners found some momentum with their offense.

But with third and fourth place finishes at the Missouri 18, Joe Jon Finley accomplished something different.

Taylor Tatum took the handoff from Jackson Arnold and then looked back to find Arnold for a pass. The Sooners' quarterback intercepted the pass deep, then took off and slid into the end zone for OU's first touchdown of the day, tying the game.

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Danny Stutsman moves up the OU tackles list

OU linebacker Danny Stutsman came into the game needing nine tackles to move into the top 10 on the Sooners' career tackles list.

Stutsman had made it by halftime.

Stutsman tied Kevin Murphy for his 353rd career tackle late in the second quarter and intercepted Marcus Carroll for a 3-yard gain.

Three plays later, he teamed with Robert Spears-Jennings to stop Carroll for a 1-yard gain on third-and-10 to force a Missouri punt.

Stutsman finished the game with 19 tackles, his fourth double-digit tackle of the season.

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Whoever gets the WRs back sooner, Miss Barnes

Jalil Farooq had only played in one game this season. Deion Burks had only played four.

Against Missouri, both receivers returned after a long absence due to injury.

But even with their returns, OU couldn't get the ball to them with any regularity.

The offensive line's defense was uneven and Arnold was often cornered.

Burks finished the game with five catches for 44 yards before exiting with an injury in the final minute, while Farooq had two catches for 11 yards.

Burks lost a crucial fumble early in the fourth quarter that led to Missouri's second touchdown.

The turnover was OU's third of the game.

The Sooners' offense clearly missed running back Jovantae Barnes.

Barnes ran for more than 200 yards in a win over Maine last week, but suffered an ankle injury in that game that ultimately sidelined him on Saturday.

Gavin Sawchuk was dressed well and doing warmups, but Taylor Tatum ended up being the Sooners' best option at running back.

Tatum had just 25 yards on eight carries and two catches for 10 yards.

Earlier this week, Sooners coach Brent Venables said the plan was to redshirt Robinson.

But with Barnes sidelined and few other options available, Venables used Robinson for the fourth time this season.

He can still redshirt, but another appearance would kill that possibility.

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